Brotherhood on the Run
by Red Witch
Summary: After the Day of Recovery, the Brotherhood is forced to fend for themselves in a world that is hunting them. A completed fic full of humor and drama. Don't you just love 'em?
1. Breaking Up Isn't That Hard To Do

****

Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't own any X-Men Evolution characters. Well here we go again! This will be a multi chapter fic. How many depends on what they do in the episodes. So this fic starts just when the X-Men leave Mystique behind! 

**Brotherhood on the Run**

Chapter 1: Breaking Up Isn't That Hard To Do 

"I can't believe you just left her like that!" Lance snarled at Scott as the chopper cleared the mountains. 

"It's her own fault," Scott said. "If she'd told me where she hid the professor I'd have let her out!"

"The professor is missing?" Hank asked.

"Yeah," Scott said. "She kidnapped him! He's missing! She's been impersonating him for I don't know how long!"

Logan growled and grabbed Lance by the uniform. "HOW LONG? WHERE IS HE?" He snarled.

"I don't know!" Lance snapped, trying to break free. "I was just as shocked as you were! You think she actually tells us anything? She's the one who ran the show! We just followed her orders."

"He's telling the truth," Jean looked disappointed. "He doesn't know anything."

"That's right!" Lance snapped. "So back off!" 

Logan let him go. "Yeah, I should have known Mystique would never let her lap dogs in on anything."

"Look who's talking!" Lance snapped. "Like you didn't jump every time the Professor snapped his fingers!" 

"Why you little punk!" Logan popped his claws. 

"That's enough!" Hank snapped. "Pointing fingers and blaming each other isn't going to solve anything!"

"I think we've already solved a big part of it leaving that witch behind!" Rogue spat. 

"You're as bad as she is!" Lance snarled. "No worse! I don't think even Mystique would have allowed a group of humans to experiment on all of you!" 

"No she simply wanted to blow us all up like she did with the mansion!" Scott shouted.

"What?" Rogue snapped.

"What did you say?" Evan gasped. 

"Start talking," Logan glared at Scott. "You gotta bring the rest of us up to speed. What happened? From the beginning." 

************************************************************************

"Ah sunrise!" Todd sighed as he looked over the lookout point. "Another glorious day to be alive! Isn't it romantic?"

"Romantic? Toad we are being hunted and Magneto got away! How can you think of romance at a time like this?" Wanda snapped.

"Why not? Worked for Bonnie and Clyde! Now that is romance!" 

"I'm just curious," Wanda looked at him. "Are you totally insane?" 

"Come on my Scarlet Sweetheart," Todd grinned at her. "You have to admit, it's a heck of a view! Gives one ideas doesn't it?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I could throw you off the cliff and no one would find your body for days," Wanda snapped as she paced back and forth. "Where are they? They should have been back by now!" 

"Wait no more Wanda!" Todd pointed to an incoming chopper. "Here they are! Right on time!" 

"Finally," Wanda sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but she was glad they were all safe. After all she had experienced, she wouldn't wish any mutant to be locked up and caged. Well maybe one or two exceptions. 

"Freddy!" Todd hopped over and gave him a high five. "Good to see ya man! So tell me, how was the prison food?"

"Wasn't there long enough to find out," Fred grinned, giving Todd a hug. "Man I never thought I'd be glad to see your smelly face again!"

"Hey I'm mister Loveable!" Todd laughed.

"Did you find anything?" Storm asked. 

"Magneto is alive," Wanda said in a cold tone. "Thanks to my dear brother Pietro."

"Hey yo, where's the boss lady?" Todd looked around. 

"Ask him!" Fred pointed angrily to Scott. "The lousy traitor!"

"What?" Todd scratched his head. 

"Summers left her behind," Lance told them. "On purpose! The army has her."

"You…lousy….backstabbing…" Todd growled and made fists out of his hands. "Even I never thought you could stoop that low!" 

"Traitor!" Wanda hissed, powering up. Her fury was growing by the second. Mystique was not her favorite person, but she did owe her something for helping her escape. It wasn't right that she was locked up as while the others roamed free. 

"Wanda that's enough!" Jean shouted. "The last thing we need right now is a fight to draw attention to ourselves! In case you haven't forgotten we're still being hunted! Do you want to risk getting captured again?"

Wanda powered down, but the cold glare was still in her eyes. "I hate to admit it cutie pie," Todd grumbled. "But she's right." 

"Look we have to work together now," Storm said. "We have more important matters to attend to."

"Easy for you to say now you're in charge again!" Lance snapped. 

"Why should we do what they say?" Fred asked. "They took out Mystique!"

"And she stole the Professor!" Kitty fumed. 

"She tried to kill us all!" Scott screamed. 

"Yeah and now she's in the hands of the army!" Lance shouted back. "How long do you think it's gonna be before she sings like a canary and tells them everything about us? And something tells me it's not gonna be a pretty picture of us, that's for sure!"

"She wouldn't," Kitty blinked.

"Wanna bet?" Lance asked her.

"She would," Todd sighed. 

"I was trying to get her to tell us where the Professor went!" Scott snarled.

"All you had to do was get Roguey here to grab her!" Todd pointed out. "She would have gotten the info one two three!" 

Scott fumed in silence. "Yeah Summers," Fred taunted. "Even I could have figured that out!" 

"Face it Summers you didn't care about Xavier!" Lance snarled. "You wanted revenge, pure and simple. Just another way to keep us down! You guys wanted all the power for yourselves! That's the real reason you left her behind!" 

"You're crazy," Scott said. "You would have killed those soldiers back there without a second thought, wouldn't you?"

"They were trying to kill us!" Lance snarled. "Or worse! Anybody who gets in our way deserves what they get! Maybe I would have killed them, but it was only in self-defense! What you did to Mystique was on purpose. You might as well have put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger yourself. She could have helped us all! She had a plan! She must have had a plan!" 

"What part of the plan made it necessary to destroy our home! And what reason could she possibly have to kill the New Mutants?" Kitty asked, her eyes filled with tears. "Now they're missing too! We can't find them! For all we know they could be…" She glared at Lance and walked away, turning her back on him. 

"Look I agree she never should have tried to kill the kids," Lance said. "She should have waited until all of them were gone before she blew the mansion up!" 

"You actually enjoy the fact our home was destroyed," Jean said in a shocked voice. 

"Why shouldn't I?" Lance whirled on her. "Its what you deserve. You're the ones who destroyed Asteroid M in the first place. If you ask me, you what's coming to you! You ruined everything! This is all your fault!"

"Get out," Logan growled, popping his claws. 

"Fine with me!" Lance snarled. "We don't need you! Go find your stupid professor, for all the good it will do you! We are out of here!"

"Yeah who needs these losers anyway?" Todd snapped. 

"Mark this well X-Men," Wanda told them. "We will not forget what you did. Nor will we forgive." 

The Brotherhood walked away, leaving the X-Men behind. They walked for quite a while in silence. 

"Well," Lance broke the silence. "We're on our own again." 

"Now what do we do fearless leader?" Todd asked.

"Go home I guess," Lance sighed. "If we have a home to go back to."

****

Next chapter: Things go from bad to worse as the Brotherhood discovers how alone they really are! 


	2. You Can't Go Home Again

**You Can't Go Home Again**

"Oh man," Lance blinked as he saw all the cop cars surrounding the front of the boarding house. "Look at them all! There are cops all over the place!" 

"Well gee Lance we did have our faces broadcast over every news station in the country," Wanda said sarcastically. "Of course this would be the first place they'd look! Great idea."

"Shut up!" Lance snapped. "We need to get our stuff, like clothes. We need to try and blend in more. We stand out enough as it is!" 

"It's gonna take more than a change of clothes to do that," Todd pointed out.

"I know but maybe if we had some we could at least look normal," Lance told him. 

"I got it!" Todd said. "I can sneak in!"

"Are you insane?" Lance asked. "Stupid question." 

"It'll be easy yo! I can just stick to the ceiling! Do a little wall climbing from room to room and whammo!" Todd smiled. 

"Fine," Lance sighed. "We'll hide around back. Looks like the cops are just staking out the front anyway. But don't screw this up Toad!"

"Hey you are looking at the Toad, king of the sneak thieves!" Todd said proudly. "Although you babe have stolen my heart!" 

"Get away from me you creep," Wanda hissed. 

"She loves me!" Todd smiled and hopped away. The Brotherhood snuck around back to a corner of the house and hid. 

"Think we're safe here?" Wanda asked.

"I think so," Lance said. "We used to hide here sometimes when Mystique was in one of her moods." 

"I have to ask you what is the deal with Toad?" Fred asked Wanda. "What are you some kind of couple?"

"He seems to think so!" Wanda groaned. "Whatever gave him that idea I'll never know! All I do is insult him! I try to make my point but he just doesn't get it! Why doesn't he just take a hint?" 

"Let's just say self esteem isn't exactly one of the many qualities Toad possesses," Lance told her. "The fact that you're even talking to him is enough of a turn on." 

"Wonderful," Wanda groaned. "You know I'm actually starting to miss the asylum! People were saner there!" 

A minute later Todd appeared with a sack full of clothes. Unfortunately they were all Wanda's. "Who cares what we look like?" Todd smiled when Lance protested. "As long as she looks good!"

He turned to Wanda. "I'd go with the uh black capris, red top and ruby choker." At this Wanda replied by shoving him to the ground. "Ah," He sighed happily. "She makes a guy wanna brush his teeth." He started into space, lost in his own world. 

Which was quickly shattered when Lance bopped him on his head. "TOAD!" He snarled, grabbing him and shoving him against the wall. "This is not the time to go impress a girl!"

"It's always the right time for love!" Todd told him. "I gotta protect my girl! She deserves the finer things in life!" 

"I do not believe this!" Lance groaned putting a hand to his head. "We've lost our leader, we're being hunted like animals. We're now homeless and have no food, clothes, or money! And all **he** can think about is getting a date!" 

"Not to mention the chances for you ever getting back together with Kitty are slim to none," Todd remarked. 

A pained look shot across Lance's face. "Kitty…" He let out an involuntary whimper. He dropped Todd. 

"You just had to mention that didn't you Toad!" Fred groaned. "Toad get back in there and get us some stuff! Unless you want to walk around naked!" 

"I see your point," Todd gulped and went back up. 

"HEY! YOU!" A policeman making the rounds walked up and saw Todd on top of the house. 

"Uh oh!" Todd gulped. "Time to make like a banana and split!" He hopped off the roof into the woods. 

"STOP!" The policeman chased after him but was tripped by Lance's tremors. The Brotherhood ran deep into the woods. After what seemed like several hours, they stopped to rest. 

"I think we lost them," Todd panted as he looked around from on top of a tree. "I don't see anyone following us!" 

"Yeah they'll never find us in these woods," Wanda said sarcastically. "Great job Toad!" 

"What are **you **complaining about?" Lance snapped. "At least you have a change of clothes!" 

"Lance…" Fred looked at him. "I'm hungry."

"What do you want me to do Blob?" Lance whirled on him. "Call for reservations at a restaurant downtown? Huh? Yeah I'll just call up the most expensive restaurant in town and have them reserve a table for four! Better yet! I'll call up a nice four star hotel we can stay at! Would you like that Blob? Would you?"

"Hey!" Fred got in his face. "You don't have to get sarcastic with me, Avalanche! I can take a hint you know!"

"Will you morons shut your faces and knock it off!" Wanda snarled, stepping between the two of them. "We have enough problems as it is! The last thing we need is the two of you going at it for the title of world's biggest jerk!" 

"Italian would be nice," Todd sighed hopping down. He blinked at Wanda. "Just the two of us in a nice dark corner."

"I will not kill him," Wanda groaned. "I will not kill him." 

"It's official," Lance sighed. "This is the worst day of my entire life. And over the years there's been some serious competition for that title!" 

"Hey come on yo, We'll be okay! We can try later when it's dark to get more stuff. If not we could always try to get some new clothes someplace else," Todd said.

"Oh sure," Lance rolled his eyes. "I've been dying for a new Armani suit."

"Nah, I know places where it's easy to swipe some threads," Todd waved. "You know, take some from the lockers while everyone's at gym class."

"Hello! Toad! We can't go back to school!" Lance shouted. "Remember!" 

"Oh yeah," Todd scratched his head. "Hey! Every cloud has a silver lining!"

"Why me?" Lance groaned. 

"Lance I'm scared," Fred sat down and started to shake a little. "I don't think I can take being captured again. If you guys hadn't come when you did…I don't know what they would have done to us!" 

"I have a clue," Wanda said softly as she sat down. "If it's anything like the stupid tests they used to run on me back at the asylum. Being studied like a lab rat and locked in a cage…" 

"Is that what they're doing to Mystique?" Todd asked. 

It got very quiet. "What are we gonna do?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Lance sat there on the ground. He took of his helmet. He looked like he was about to cry. "I just don't know what to do." 

"Things can't get any worse," Todd sighed. Then he put his arm around Wanda. "Don't worry my love, I'll protect you!"

"Too bad no one is going to protect you!" Wanda snarled as she twisted his arm. Then she started flinging hexbolts at him. Todd hopped around screaming while Wanda chased him. 

"Man I thought you acted like an idiot when you were moping over Kitty," Fred shook his head. "Poor little guy's got it bad." 

"Kitty," Lance blinked as if he heard the word for the first time.

"Well at least Toad is smart enough not to fall for an X-Geek," Fred sighed. "Not that they'd be much help anyway. We're all alone out here." 

"We're alone…" Lance looked like he was lost in his own world. "All alone." 

"Yep it looks like we burned that bridge pretty good," Fred sighed. "Oh well, I guess we'll never be friends with the X-Nerds. They all hate us now more than ever." 

"Kitty hates me," Lance became even more depressed. 

"DIE TOAD!" Wanda threw a hexbolt at him.

"Can't we work this out in couples' therapy or something?" Todd asked as he hopped for his life. 

"Lance do something!" Fred cried out as he watched Wanda cause destruction everywhere. 

"Oh Kitty," Lance moaned as he lay there slumped against the tree. 

"Okay," Fred put his head in his hands. "Now things are worse. Wanda has become even more psycho. Toad and Lance are acting like love starved idiots….So that leaves me as the only clear headed one."

He sat up and blinked. "Oh great. We're dead!" 

**So what will happen to our gang of misfits? Keep in mind that I am trying to stay as close to the show as possible. It looks like the next episode 'The Stuff of Heroes' will take place that same day as it ended. So we're all going to have to wait until the next episode to see what happens. Oh come on, they have to do something with the gang! Can't wait to see what! **


	3. A Hunting We Will Go

**Okay, maybe one more little chapter before the second episode of season 3…**

**A Hunting We Will Go**

"Kitty…" Lance said softly. Memories flooded into his mind. Memories of happier times. Hanging out together in study hall or chemistry. Walking in the park together. Simple happy times. Times that may now be lost forever. 

__

Why did this have to happen? He thought. _We were so happy until it all fell apart. Why couldn't we just be like that forever? Why did it have to change all of a sudden? Why…AM I SOAKING WET?!?!_

"AAAHHGGH!" Lance gasped as a large amount of cold water was dumped on him. "Freddy!" Lance whirled on him. "What did you do that for?"

"Well I had to do something!" Fred shouted. He was holding Lance's helmet, which was still wet from the water it contained. "It was the only thing I could think of to get you out of your Kitty daze!" 

Lance sighed. "Thanks, pal. I needed that." He took the helmet back from him. "You're right. This is no time for a pity party. We have to…Hey! Wait a second! Where'd you get the water from?"

"From that stream over there," Fred pointed to it. It was only a few feet away.

Wanda and Todd were already by the stream, drinking their fill. "This isn't so bad," Wanda admitted. "At least it's clean." 

"Hey I think this tastes great!" Todd was lapping up the water with his tongue.

"Well," Lance sighed. "I am thirsty." He knelt next to the stream, cupped his hands and drank the water until he had his fill. The water tasted clean and clear and seemed to bring him back to his senses. 

When he finished he sat down where he was. "Well at least that's one thing that's gone right today. At least we won't get dehydrated," Todd said. 

"Yeah now all we have to worry about is starving to death," Lance said as he heard his stomach grumble. 

When was the last time he ate something? He couldn't remember. It must have been before they went over to 'join' the X-Men. That seemed like a lifetime ago. But in reality it was only about 2 days. Maybe three. Wait, just before the mission to rescue the others he wolfed down a powerbar. The X-Men had hid some emergency rations as well as extra uniforms. 

But now he was starving. They were all hungry. "Okay," He let out a long breath. "First things first. We need to get something to eat. We are in serious need of some supplies. Anybody got any ideas?" 

"We could sneak into town and swipe something," Todd suggested. 

"Wearing these?" Lance pointed at his uniform. "We'd stick out like sore thumbs!"

"We'd do that anyway," Todd shrugged. "Too bad Pietro ain't here. He could just run into town and steal us some fast food."

Wanda glared at him. "I said **if **he was here!" Todd held up his hands in defense. "If! IF!"

"Well he's not here," Lance snapped. "We have to do this ourselves."

Fred agreed. "Yeah, we're desperate!"

"I could get us some insects!" Todd offered. 

"We're not that desperate," Lance groaned. 

"I am going to use the bushes," Wanda snapped. 

"What for?" Todd asked. "Oh…you need anybody to come with you?"

Wanda glared at him. "Uh guess not," Todd gulped. She stormed off. "Ain't she the cutest thing?"

"Toad could you forget about annoying Wanda for one minute and help us out here?" Lance snapped. "We need to get some supplies. Food being our number one priority. We also need clothes, money, blankets… not to mention toilet paper. Some shelter also since we can't go back to the Brotherhood House." 

"Yeah well at least neither can the X-Geeks," Todd shrugged. "I mean their home is now a hole in the ground so that makes us even!" 

"Yeah but they got that chopper of theirs which could fly them anyplace they wanted," Lance thought aloud. "At least until the fuel runs out."

"But where could they go?" Todd asked.

"I dunno," Lance sighed. "What do you think Fred? Freddy?" 

"Aww…" Fred was clearly not paying attention. "Look at the cute bunny!" He pointed to a small brown rabbit nearby.

"Freddy!" Lance groaned. "We are trying to think up ways to get some food here! We don't have time to go on a nature hike! So stop looking for stupid…" He did a double take. He got an idea. "Toad…how fast are you?" 

"Lance, you ain't saying what I think you're saying," Todd asked. 

"Do you wanna eat or not?" Lance asked. "If we both circle around it maybe we can catch it by surprise." 

"I don't wanna eat a little bunny yo!" Todd whined. "Besides it's barely big enough for a mouthful for each of us!"

"Well it's a mouthful more than we have now!" Lance told him. "Don't think of it as a rabbit. Think of it as a fly. A large hairy hopping wingless fly."

Todd's mouth started to drool. "Oh yeah, I see it now…" 

"If we just sneak up on it quietly…" Lance made a move towards it.

The rabbit took off. "Don't let it get away!" Lance ran after the rabbit. "Come on you guys let's get it!" 

"Well you heard the man," Todd shrugged. "Here bunny! Bunny! Bunny! Gotcha! No wait!" The rabbit turned at the last second. Todd hopped straight into a tree. "Don't gotcha…" 

"Blob! It's headed towards you!" Lance chased after it. 

"Come to papa!" Fred stood in front of it. The rabbit turned again. Fred and Lance ran into each other. "OW!"

"Watch it Blob!" Lance picked himself up. "Where'd it go?"

"Over here!" Todd called out hopping after it. 

"Tally Ho!" Fred called out. 

"Get it! Get it!" Lance shouted. 

"I got it now!" Todd made an enormous leap and grabbed the rabbit. It bit him. "YEOWCH!" He screamed and let it go. "It bit me! I got rabies yo!"

"More likely the rabbit got something!" Lance snapped. "Toad you dropped our breakfast!" 

"Which way did it go?" Fred looked around. "Which way did it go?" 

"This way!" Todd pointed. "Through those bushes!" 

"Get it! Charge!" Lance and the other two charged through the bushes after the rabbit. Two seconds later…

"WHAT DO YOU MORONS THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Wanda screamed.

"RUN AWAY!" Lance screamed trying to dodge hexbolts. "RUN AWAY!" 

"YOU PERVERTS!" Wanda raced after them.

"Babe it ain't what you think!" Todd yelped as he leapt into a tree. "Look! There! See it!" Todd pointed. "Behind you! It's the rabbit! Catch it!"

Lance stopped running and glared at it. "What the…?" He noticed the rabbit was making an odd noise. "If I didn't know better I'd swear that thing was…it is! STOP LAUGHING AT US YOU STUPID RODENT!" Lance focused his powers and shot out a crack towards the rabbit. The creature simply hopped away into a nearby hole. 

"Come out of there Bugs!" Lance skidded towards the hole and dropped to his knees. He peered inside. "I know you're in there! Oh you think you're funny huh you stupid bunny? Well here's a punchline you'll never forget!" He focused on his powers to open the hole. What he got was that a tree nearly fell on top of him. The rabbit simply hopped out of another hole and disappeared into the woods.

"It's gone Lance," Todd told him. "There goes breakfast." 

"Lance something tells me hunting is not exactly our strong suit," Fred sighed. "We have to come up with another idea." 

"It's not fair!" Lance hit the ground repeatedly. "It's just not fair! We're supposed to be the freaking pinnacle of evolution of mankind and we're outsmarted by a stupid bunny rabbit!" 

"Come on man," Fred said. "Forget about it." 

"FORGET ABOUT IT? THAT STUPID BALL OF FUR IS LAUGHING HIS STUPID COTTON TAIL OFF! IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON THAT THING IT IS DEAD! YOU HEAR ME YOU COTTONTAILED FREAK? DEAD!" Lance screamed. 

"Guys I think Lance is seriously losing it yo," Todd whispered to the others. 

"I am not going to let this beat me!" Lance spoke with demented determination. "I will not let this beat me! I won't allow it! YOU HEAR ME WORLD? I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

"And you guys call me high strung?" Wanda asked. 

Lance got to his knees and raised his fist. "I swear!" He shook it violently. "I will not allow myself to be hunted down like an animal and die! I swear on my life that I will get through this no matter what I have to do! If I have to lie, steal, cheat and kill so be it! And as God is my witness when all of this is over I will never be hungry again!" 

"Oh man," Todd slapped his head. "Our fearless leader has just lost it big time!"

"I've heard of people snapping under the strain of hunger," Fred said. "But this is ridiculous."

"Yeah we always thought you'd be the first to go," Todd remarked.

"YOU HEAR ME WORLD? I WILL BEAT YOU! I AM GOING TO WIN! HAHAHAHA!" 

"Toad, maybe you should get us some insects. Just in case," Fred told him. 


	4. Into the Woods

**Okay, where was the Brotherhood during 'Stuff of Heroes'? What? They didn't do anything crazy or anything? I find that hard to believe! Where could they have disappeared too? Something must have happened to them! Well…**

**Into The Woods**

"Lance will you snap out of it!" Todd shouted. "We don't have time for you to have a mental break down!" 

"Throw some more water on him Fred," Wanda said.

"I got a better idea," Fred picked him up and tossed him into the stream.

"Oh great!" Lance snapped as he got out of the water. "Now I'm soaking wet! Thanks a lot Blob!" 

"Well you needed to cool off anyway!" Wanda told him. 

"You're right," Lance sighed. "I'm sorry guys. I went away for a while. But I'm back now." 

"Good," Todd said. "So now what do we do?" 

"First we get back to the edge of town," Lance said. "Maybe we can get stuff from a convenience store. Come on." He walked off away from the stream.

"Do you know where you're going?" Wanda asked.

"Trust me," Lance said. "I never get lost." 

"Oh really?" Todd asked. "What about that weekend road trip we took? We drove around all day going in circles?"

"That was one incident!" Lance told him. "I know what I'm doing!" 

"Freddy?" Todd asked his friend. "You think we're going to be okay?"

"Don't worry little buddy," Fred said. "I'm sure Lance will get us to someplace safe and some food. I think."

"Relax guys," Lance said. "Everything is under control." 

Two hours later….

"Lance are you sure you know the right way?" Wanda snapped. 

"I'm positive!" Lance snapped back. "We just have to go a little further. We're bound to hit the highway sooner or later."

Much later…

"And just where is this highway Lance?" Wanda looked around but saw nothing but trees. 

"Lance didn't we pass this tree about an hour ago?" Fred asked.

"No we did not!" Lance snapped. "Shut up! I know what I'm doing!"

"I've heard that before," Wanda grumbled. 

"Look it's gotta be around here somewhere," Lance told her. "We just have to keep going."

"It looks like we saw that tree before," Fred scratched his head. "That bark looks familiar." 

"How can you tell if we saw a tree before or not!" Lance snapped. "They all look alike!"

"Hey I grew up on a farm! I know a little something about trees okay?" Fred snapped.

"Freddy just because you used to have a tire swing in your back yard does not make you an expert woodsman!" Lance shouted. 

"I think Freddy's right yo! We're going in circles!" Todd whined.

"I knew it!" Wanda threw up her hands. 

"Look you wanna be in charge?" Lance asked her angrily. "Huh? Be my guest! You take the point fearless leader! Go on!" He stood to the side and made a mock gesture for her to go ahead. "You can tell us what to do and be responsible for all of us from now on! I love to see you try!"

"Hey!" Todd snapped. "Wanda'd be a great leader! She can take care of me any day!" He batted his eyes at her.

"Forget it," Wanda rolled her eyes. "I am not going to be held responsible for you idiots!" 

"Don't look at me," Todd said. "I ain't exactly a born soldier. I'm more of a lover," He swooned at Wanda.

"Spare me," Wanda groaned. 

"Well I could…" Fred started to say.  
"NO!" Everyone shouted at him.

"It was just a suggestion," Fred grumbled as they kept walking. 

"A bad suggestion," Lance snapped.

"Well here's a good one," Wanda said. "Toad, climb up top of that tree over there and see if you can scout out our location." 

"You got it babe!" Todd made a salute and leapt upwards. 

"Do you see anything?" Lance yelled.

"Oh yeah," Todd called down. "I see something."

"Told you I knew what I was doing," Lance smirked. "What is it Toad?"

"I see trees," Todd said sarcastically. "Wait…over there I see…more trees. To the left…trees. To the right…even more trees! Straight ahead…more freaking trees!" 

"You don't see anything else?" Lance frowned. "Anything at all?"

"No I…wait! I do see something! Let me get a little higher!" Todd moved upwards. "I see it! I see it! It's…EVEN MORE STUPID TREES!"

"Okay Toad," Fred sighed. "We get it!" 

"THERE'S NOTHING BUT TREES ALL AROUND AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE! THIS IS NEW YORK! HOW MANY FREAKING TREES CAN THERE BE? THERE'S TREES EVERYWHERE! TREES TO THE LEFT OF ME! TREES TO THE RIGHT OF ME! NOTHIN' ELSE! EXCEPT A STUPID SQUIRREL! WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? NEVER SEE A TOAD IN THE TREE BEFORE?" 

"We're hopelessly lost aren't we?" Wanda asked.

"Yes," Lance grumbled sitting down. "Toad get down here! We're taking a break!"

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT FURBALL?" Todd kept shouting. "YOU WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF IT? HUH? YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME?" 

"Oh god," Wanda put her head in her hands. "Not again…" 

"DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE! OH NOW YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT! TAKE THIS!" The leaves began to rustle and there was a sound of a very angry squirrel chattering. Then a strange slurping sound. "WHATSA MATTER? CAN'T TAKE A…GET OFFA ME YOU STUPID FURRY…AAGGGGH!" 

Todd nearly broke his neck tumbling out of the tree. "Stupid squirrel!" Todd raised his fist at the rodent that was chattering at him and bearing its teeth from the top of the tree. "What is it with the animals in this forest?"

"Look as much as I'd love to watch all of you losing a battle of wits with our furry forest friends, I'd like to remind all of you that we have a situation here!" Wanda snapped. "We're lost! We can't find our way out of the forest!" 

"Well at least the cops can't find us either," Todd said, sitting down. 

In the distance something howled. "Some reason that doesn't make me feel any better," Fred gulped. 

"Okay," Wanda sighed. "Let's take stock of my life right now, I'm being hunted by the government, there's no food, shelter or adequate leadership, and now I'm lost in the woods with three morons. Perfect. Just perfect!" 

"Well at least we have each other," Todd put his arm around her. Wanda stomped on his foot. "OW!" 

"Okay it's official," Wanda grumbled. "I hate my life!" 

"I can't go on anymore," Fred moaned as he lay on the ground. "I'm dying of hunger!"

"Well just live off of your fat," Wanda snapped. "By the looks of it you can hibernate until next spring!" 

"You know if I wasn't so exhausted I'd attempt some kind of retort," Fred grumbled. 

"We're all gonna die out here aren't we?" Todd moaned. 

"If there only was an abandoned cabin or something," Lance grumbled. "At least we could have shelter and maybe water." 

"You mean like that one?" Todd pointed to the left. Sure enough there was a small cabin hidden in the trees. 

"Hey! How'd we miss that?" Fred sat up quickly. He got to his feet. "Maybe they have food!" He ran towards it.

"Yeah and maybe they have guns as well!" Lance shouted. "Freddy! Freddy! Come back here! We don't want people…"

Fred ran straight up to the cabin and tore the door off its hinges. He ran inside. "To know we're here…" Lance put his head into his hands. 

"Come on!" Wanda started running. "We'd better help him!"

They made it to the cabin and found Freddy gulping down a box of Twinkies. "FOOD!" He crowed. "GLORIOUS! WONDERFUL FOOD!" He took out a can of whipped cream and shot a stream into his mouth. "OH MY DARLING TWINKIES! WE WILL NEVER BE APART AGAIN!" 

"I hate my life," Wanda groaned. 

"Hey! There's food in there!" Todd shouted. They all were so hungry and thirsty they threw caution to the wind and started eating the first things they could grab out of the refrigerator and the cabinets.

"This place is stocked to the max!" Wanda said enthusiastically as she wolfed down some cheese. 

"I can't believe our good luck!" Lance eagerly munched down on some cereal and a candy bar. "A well stocked cabin in the middle of nowhere and nobody's around!" 

"I wonder who owns it?" Wanda asked.

"Probably Larry," Fred said as he ate an apple.

"Who's Larry?" Lance asked.

"The guy who this note is for on the fridge," Fred pointed to it. He read it aloud. "Dear Larry, it's over. By the time you get back I will be on the train to Boston. I can't take you anymore. Trying to spend two weeks in a cabin with you is impossible! I've never had a more boring lover. I'm running off with Stan. He is more of a man than you will ever be. I want a divorce. My lawyer will call your lawyer. Oh wait, Stan is your lawyer. Well get a new one you will need it. Have a nice life. Martha." 

"Hey guys here's his answering machine," Todd pointed out. He turned it on. 

"Hello," A man's voice came over the machine. "This is Larry. Please leave your name and number at the beep. Unless you're that scheming slut of a wife of mine. Martha if this is you I have a message. If you think you can just run out on me and take my money that I worked so damn hard for you have another think coming! Well I have a shocker for you sweetheart! I'm running off to Baltimore with your sister! Yeah your sister! Bet you never saw that one coming did you? Well I've had it with you spending all my money and whining and complaining about every little thing! I tried to be a good husband. God knows I tried! But you didn't even stick around two days! Well that's it sister! The gravy train stops here! And by the way I am not the boring one in bed! You're not exactly a firecracker yourself so ha! So long you shrewish hag! I'm free! I'M FREEEEEEEE! HAHAHAHA!"

They stood there looking at each other. "Something tells me it's gonna be a while before anybody comes back," Todd said. 


	5. Hey! We're on TV!

****

Here we go! Final chapter folks! More humor, some drama and well…other things. 

**Hey! We're on TV! **

After they had eaten their fill they decided to make use of the place as best as they could. Wanda went to the bathroom to take a bath and change into her clothes. Todd decided to search for useful items, such as cash. Fred, having promised to not eat any more food (What little was left of it) decided to relax on the couch. Lance had found the master bedroom and decided to take a nap. 

He stripped off his uniform and crawled underneath the covers, wearing only his boxers. He felt now was a good time to take a quick catnap. He the bed felt so good and soft. _Thank god I don't have to sleep on the ground tonight, _He thought. He closed his eyes. The next thing he knew was that something was shaking him. 

"Wha…" Lance blearily opened his eyes. He saw Todd shaking at him. "Toad let me sleep! I'm trying to take a nap here."

"You've already been out like a light for three hours yo!" Todd stamped his foot impatiently.

"That long?" Lance rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

"You gotta get up!" Todd nearly shouted. "We're on TV!" 

"What?" Lance sat up.

"Well our house is and stuff," Todd said. "Come on!"

Curiosity took hold of Lance. He got up and went downstairs, following Todd. The others were sitting around a television. Wanda had changed into her street clothes. She gave Lance a look over. "Nice boxer shorts," She commented. 

"Oh man," Lance looked down and remembered he had removed his uniform. 

"Here," Todd rummaged in a brown sack. He tossed Lance a pair of jeans and a red sweater. "I found this in one of the rooms. It looks like it will fit you." 

"Thanks," Lance put them on. The sweater was slightly big but he made do. 

"Hey! There's our house!" Todd pointed to the television.

"Again a second mutant hiding place has been found," The newscaster spoke over the footage of the Brotherhood house. "It is believed that a group of mutants separate from the X-Men have been living in the same town. Scientists and police are gathering evidence." It cut to footage of a man in a biohazard suit holding something on a pole. That something was a very large pair of shorts with little red hearts on them. 

"Three guesses whose those are," Lance snickered. 

"This is so humiliating," Fred groaned.

"The mutants identified living at the Bayville Boarding house are Lance Alvers, a transfer student with a juvenile record," The newscaster read. "Another transfer student Fred 'The Blob' Dukes a former performer in truck shows also lived there." Pictures of both boys were on the screen. 

"Oh great," Fred groaned. "They had to show that picture of me! They had to show my bad side!"

"You have a good side?" Todd cracked. 

"Shut up!" Fred snapped, reaching over to swat him. Todd hopped out of the way.

"Todd Tolensky," A picture of Todd was shown from the news footage. "A freshman at Bayville High. Tabitha Smith who has been arrested in connection with a recent robbery at the Bayville High Carnival is another student." Tabitha's picture showed up.

"I wonder where Tabby is?" Fred wondered aloud. "I kind of hope she's okay." 

"Kind of?" Wanda asked.

"She shaved my head once," Fred grumbled. "Don't ask." 

"Also living at this residence were Pietro and Wanda Maximoff," Their pictures were shown. "Both have a history of criminal activity as well as mental illness. It is believed that Wanda recently escaped from a mental institution. There is evidence that more mutants may have also lived there but we have no information at this time on who they are or how many there were. All students have been described by Principal Kelly as highly troubled and rebellious."

"Troubled?" Lance's voice was dangerous. "Kelly you have no idea how troubled we are!" 

"Oh god," Wanda groaned. "I look so fat!"

"Why do girls always say that yo?" Todd asked. "It's not like you look like Freddy or nothing! You look beautiful babe!" 

"Oh yeah Toad that really helps my self esteem!" Fred snapped. 

"We now return live to the emergency session of Congress who are now debating on the mutant menace," The newscaster spoke. It showed several congressmen debating.

"Menace," Lance spat. "Listen to them. They've already made up their minds about us. Mystique was right. Humans will never accept us." 

"Pipe down!" Wanda turned up the volume. "I wanna hear this!" 

A gray haired congressman was speaking. "For years I have warned Congress and spoken out on the damage pollutants have done on the environment. Despite countless data and proven records of the effects of toxic wastes and nuclear testing myself and others that have shared my belief for a clean environment have been ignored. Well the recent events have proven we can ignore them no longer. These mutations are a direct result of all the pollution that we have dumped on this planet. Obviously you cannot keep using radioactive materials and release them into the environment without having some effect on human beings! The inconclusive results are these strange and monstrous creatures. We must now pass a clean air and water bill and ban all nuclear testing! If we don't there will be more of these things we will have to deal with!" 

"With all due respect to the distinguished gentleman from the state of California," The Chairman spoke. "Now is not the time to push your own personal political agenda. I agree that there may be a link between pollution and these…things. But we do not know for sure without more research and testing."

"Testing?" Todd yelped. "They're talking about dissecting us yo!" 

"Somehow that doesn't shock me," Wanda growled. 

The Chairman was rambling on. "And I say to you these mutants are concealed weapons of the most dangerous sort! And I say to you…" 

Suddenly there was a commotion on the screen. Through the doors walked in Ororo and Hank wearing very sharp outfits. "Is that who I think it is?" Fred shouted. 

"Hey!" Lance pointed. "That's Mr. McCoy and Storm! What are they doing there?" 

"Are they nuts?" Todd yelped. "Why didn't they just shoot themselves?" 

"Where'd they get the clothes?" Fred scratched his head.

"Probably stole them," Lance huffed. "Typical. If we do it to put clothes on our backs we're called thieves. When they do it, they're impressing Congress!" 

Storm stood there regally. "We are mutants," She announced. "And this witch hunt is going to stop! Now!" 

"Oh yeah that will work!" Lance groaned. "Just tell them to back off and they won't kill us. Why didn't we think of that?" 

"Will you be quiet?" Wanda snapped. "I wanna hear this!"

No one said a word as Ororo and Hank spoke about mutants, trying to explain themselves and the situation. However it was soon clear that very few were listening. "You creatures dare complain about how you are being treated after the damage you have done?" The Chairman shouted.

"Mutants have lived among you for years without incident," Ororo was trying to convince them. "We are peaceful!"

"Speak for yourself lady," Fred grumbled.

"Peaceful?" The Chairman took out a folder. "Or biding your time? From what we discovered at the Xavier Institute you seem to have been preparing for war!" He showed a picture of the destroyed Danger Room. 

"Busted," Todd snickered. 

"That is our training room," Hank explained. "Where we teach mutants how to use their powers…"

"In order to use them against us!" The Chairman pounded his fist on the table. 

"No!" Ororo spoke out. "In order to use them to help people. Not to destroy them!"

"You have weapons all over your compound!" The Chairman showed some more pictures. "You have a funny definition of helping people." 

"In order to defend ourselves," Hank said. 

"If you're so peaceful why do you need to defend yourselves?" The Chairman snapped.

"Brilliant plan X-Geeks," Lance grumbled, folding his arms. "They're just digging a deeper hole for all of us! I can't watch any more of this!" He stormed upstairs. 

He lay down back on the bed. He intended to try to go back to sleep but he was too angry. _No matter what we say or do they're never going to listen to us! What was I thinking all those months ago when I wanted to out us to the entire school? Just look at the hate in their eyes and in their voices. They don't want to listen. They just want to blame us! I've seen that too many times before. I've seen it on the faces of every foster parent I've ever met. Every teacher that I've had. All the stupid principals who took one look at my file and decided I was scum. _

Wanda hovered near the door. "You give up too easy," She told him, folding her arms. "Maybe they can do some good." 

"Fat chance," Lance snapped. "Did you hear them? They've already made up their minds about us. What's the point?"

"You have to have some hope," Wanda told him. "That's the only way I was able to get through all that time locked up. I was hoping that someone would help me get out of there. Funny thing, just when I gave up, I was rescued."

"I thought you got through it by hating your Dad and wanting revenge," Lance said.

"That too," Wanda leaned against the doorframe.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lance asked. 

"Don't get the wrong idea," Wanda said. "We're not really friends or anything, but…"

"But?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Like it or not we're all alone," Wanda said. "All we have is each other. As much as I dislike you morons, I know for a fact it's stupid to try and go it alone now. I will not allow them to lock me up again. I'd rather die."

"If we don't hang together we hang separately," Lance said. "Yeah I got ya." 

"We can't give up Lance," Wanda said. "We can't let them win. We have to stick together and keep fighting. It's our only hope of survival."

"Not to mention your only chance of getting even with Pietro and Magneto," Lance pointed out. "I got ya. You're not the only one who wants their hides right now. I still can't believe that little twerp ditched us like that!"

"I can," Wanda snapped. "He was always 'Daddy's little boy' even when we were kids." 

"Boy and I thought I had a warped childhood," Lance groaned. "That's over now isn't it? Being a kid. It just hit me now. Not even the law can protect us." 

They stayed like that in silence. "You gonna come down?" Wanda asked.

"Later," Lance sighed. "I just need to think. Ya know?"

Wanda nodded and left. Lance lay there thinking. Finally his mind drifted and he fell asleep for a few moments. A loud explosion awakened him. Instinctively he ran downstairs only to find the kitchen was on fire. 

"I told you not to put a can of soup in the microwave!" Wanda snapped, using her powers to control the blaze.

"Well I was in a hurry!" Fred used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the flames. Soon the fire was out.

"God I'm stuck with morons," Wanda grumbled.

"Geeze guys I thought the cops were at our door or something!" Lance snapped. He turned towards the TV. Todd was still on the couch watching it. "Anything?"

"They're still yapping," Todd yawned. "Apparently we built the sentinel as well."

"You're kidding?" Lance groaned. 

"I wish," Todd said. "Hey! Look! Is that who I think it is!" He pointed to the screen.

"That's the Juggernaut!" Lance shouted.

"Him again?" Fred said as he ran towards the TV. "How'd he get out of prison?" 

"Who's he?" Wanda asked.

"He's sort of like a mutant," Lance explained. "Kind of enhanced his DNA to become one. Mystique broke him out once to help her get Cerebro. Only the plan backfired. It took all of us, including the X-Geeks to stop him. The guy is unstoppable."

"Yeah he even knocked me down!" Fred told her. "And I'm supposed to be immovable!" 

"Oh look he's on the rampage," Todd said cynically. "Wonderful. Just another reason for them to blow us up!" 

"How did they lock him up if he's supposedly unstoppable?" Wanda asked.

"Well they put him in this funny bio solution," Todd told her. "It paralyzes you so you can't move or nothing. You're asleep the whole time. Mystique snuck in and…" Todd's features changed with realization. "THAT'S IT!"

"What?" Lance asked.

"I just figured it out!" Todd cried out. "I know where they're keeping that professor of theirs! Mystique must have stashed him in the same place where they were keeping the Juggernaut! I can't believe it!" 

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…" Fred said. "Back up. What are you talking about?" 

"Think about it!" Todd told them. "Mystique's the only one who can get in and out of that prison undetected! She busted him out before, she must have done it again!"

"And put the professor in the stasis chamber." Lance realized. 

"Well here's a sentence I'd never thought I'd say," Wanda admitted. "Toad, you're a genius!" 

"Well," Todd shrugged. "Hey, you think we should tell the X-Freaks about this?"

"Are you kidding?" Fred snapped. "After what they did?"

"Yeah," Todd turned his attention back to the screen. "Speak of the devil! Look who's on!" They watched in shock as the X-Men were battling Juggernaut. 

"I swear I don't know who to root for," Fred grumbled as he watched. 

Soon the X-Men won. The Brotherhood watched as they were on TV. It then went back to the congressional hearings. "What just happened?" The Chairman stood there in shock.

"What they were trained to do," Ororo said simply. "Use their powers for good." 

"Sir!" An aide rushed in and handed the Chairman a file. "Uh I see," The chairman gulped. "We've gone over the laboratory where the sentinel was held. And we found evidence that um…it was humans, not mutants who built the sentinel robot."

"I told you we didn't do it!" Hank said. 

"Well uh…" The Chairman gulped. "We've caught the man responsible for creating the sentinel and he confessed. Considering this new evidence I suppose we have no choice but to absolve the X-Men from blame."

"HA!" Lance laughed at the TV. 

"Look at that rat squirm!" Todd laughed. "Serves him right!" 

"Yeah but what about the rest of us?" Wanda said. "They may be in the clear but what about…?"

"What about the other mutants out there?" Hank spoke up. "There are other mutants that fear persecution as well." 

"I suppose for now," The Chairman fidgeted. "We should call off the search for any other mutants. At least until we have more evidence." 

A cheer went up from the Brotherhood. "You know what this means?" Fred cried out. "They ain't gonna hunt us anymore! We don't have to hide!" 

"Hey we can go home!" Todd said excitedly.

"Great!" Lance whooped. "About time those Geeks did something for us! Let's get the stuff and go!" They went to leave.

"And which way is that?" Wanda asked, folding her arms and giving them a hard stare.

Realization hit them at full force. "Oh yeah…" Lance grumbled. 

************************************************************************

Several hours later, the Brotherhood finally made it home. "Man I never thought I'd be so happy to see this dump again," Fred sighed as they stood at the entrance. 

"You think any cops are still around?" Todd asked. 

"Only one way to find out," Lance told him. "Spread out and search the place to make sure." They went inside and looked around. Immediately Lance noticed that things were not the same. The trash was gone, emptied out by the police and scientists searching for clues about their lifestyle. Some drawers were still open. Several home movie tapes were missing. 

Suddenly Lance felt violated. It was bad enough that the cops were in their home but scientists…**scientists**were going through their stuff. Studying their home like it was an animal's natural habitat. Trying to find out their secrets. 

_They couldn't just take our stuff and go could they? _Lance thought angrily, his fists clenching. _They're worse than thieves! They had to go over and analyze everything. Everything we ate or slept on. They probably took some of our clothes or hairbrushes in order to study our DNA or something. They might even have the place bugged. Wouldn't put it past them! _

"Well they're gone," Todd hopped around the rooms. 

"So's half our stuff," Lance sighed. "Of course most of it was garbage anyway."

"Hey look at the bright side," Todd shrugged. "They did us a favor by cleaning up."

"Oh yeah," Lance grumbled. "I can just imagine the conversations they had about us when they were looking through our stuff. They must have thought we were pigs!"

"You are pigs!" Wanda told them. "I'm going into my room. Alone. Don't bother me if you want to see the morning." She stomped upstairs. 

Lance looked around the rooms cautiously. "What'cha doing Lance?" Todd scratched his head.

"Just checking out our stuff," Lance casually replied. "Hey Toad do you see all the insects around here? You know the **bugs** the cops let come into the house?" 

"Huh?" Todd blinked. Then realization hit him. "Oh yeah. Them cops don't know how to clean up after themselves don't they?" He started looking around as well. 

"Bugs? What bugs?" Fred scratched his head. "I don't see no bugs." 

"That's because they're very small," Todd said slowly. "Very very small. Like those you see on TV?" 

"TV?" Fred scratched his head. "I don't get it."

Todd angrily blew out a breath of air and jumped up onto Fred's shoulder. He whispered into his ear. Fred's eyes grew wide. "OHHHHHH," He said. "Now I get it." 

"Yeah," Lance grumbled. They spread out. It didn't take Lance long to locate a listening device in one of the lamps in the living room. _I knew it! _He silently fumed. 

Todd found one in the kitchen and Lance found one more in the bathroom. They gave them to Fred. He crushed them in his hand. "That takes care of the bugs," He grinned. 

"I think that's the last of 'em," Todd said. "Well at least we know that the cops are keeping an eye on us. But I don't think they'll do any more. What with the X-Geeks getting all of us a presidential pardon and all." 

"Yeah it's over now," Lance sighed as he went to his room. But even as he said it he knew it wasn't true. Nothing would ever be the same again. In fact, it had only just begun. 


End file.
